To dance in sunlight
by Jemmiah
Summary: Can QuiGon give up someone that means a lot to him? please review!
1. Default Chapter Title

This story takes place just over a year after "I Promise You."

TITLE: To Dance in Sunlight

Even though she was not a Jedi, even though she had not the slightest force ability she could tell he was nearby.

Muffled voices came from next door, wordless half-whispers that she couldn't make out. It didn't matter what was being said. She knew they were talking about her.

Everyone talked about her, it seemed. Behind her back. Discussing what was best and planning her life. Making decisions…

She could hear the deeper of the two voices drawing nearer and realized that he was heading for her room. 

That was something she could well do without right now.

The footsteps halted, the hand on the other side of the door hesitating for a moment before knocking gently a couple of times.

Her only answer was to throw herself face down on her bed and pull the blankets over her face. 

* If that didn't let him know how she felt then he was the most useless Jedi in the entire temple *, she thought miserably. 

For a further half minute there was no answer and she thought he might give up and go away but that turned out to be a false hope. Underneath the covers she could hear her door slide open.

"Jemmiah." The voice said softly.

She didn't reply.

"Jemmiah, please speak to me." Qui-Gon spoke again.

* Not a chance. * Jemmy just pulled the blankets further over her, almost smothering herself in the fabric. She didn't particularly care if she did suffocate. 

Qui-Gon moved closer to the swaddled figure on the bed. He knew this was not going to be easy.

"Please come out from under there."

"Go away."

She felt the hand rest on her shoulder through the covers but couldn't bring herself to shrug it away. She was angry with him, angry with everyone, but most of all she was angry with herself for daring to hope that everything would work out OK. She should have known. 

Nothing ever worked out for her.

"It's very difficult having a conversation with a shapeless lump on top of a mattress." He said finally, taking in the many mixed and unshielded emotions that seemed to exude from her. "And you're too old to hide under the bedclothes."

Jemmiah threw the bedcovers back and glared at him.

"I'm not hiding."

"That's better." He said softly.

He remained silent for a while, trying to think of what to say next, wondering if he would find the words. Then she saved him the bother.

"I don't understand." She whispered. "What have I done?"

"Done?"

"Why am I being sent away? I must have done something!"

"You haven't done anything…" Qui-Gon began.

"If you tell me what it was then I'll try and put it right. Have I misbehaved? I can be good if I put my mind to it. I can!"

"You don't understand." He shook his head.

"Have I upset someone?"

"No."

"Did I break something?"

"No, no…"

"Then what? How can I make it better if you won't tell me?" She began to wail.

Qui-Gon felt his calm begin to melt.

"None of this is your fault and you haven't done anything wrong. Please believe that."

"Then what?"

*He looks upset* Jemmiah thought. *I've upset the one person who can keep me here at the temple. *

"What can I do that will let me stay? I don't want to go!"

"Believe me Tangles, I don't want you to go either." Jinn averted his eyes to the pattern on the bedcovers.

"But you're the one who's making me go!"

"That's not true. The council have forced my hand on this."

"You don't have to do what they say!"

"I can't go against them this time."

"Why not?" She shouted. "You don't even like me, do you? Evla's changed her mind and she doesn't want me and now you're sending me away!"

Qui-Gon knew this was going badly but every time he opened his mouth he just seemed to make matters worse.

"You're mother's brother has been located. He and his wife are filing for your legal custody." He said with his eyes closed.

He could sense the shock from inside her.

"I'm sorry." He hung his head slightly. "You didn't give Evla the chance to explain."

Jemmiah sat in utter bewilderment.

"I don't have any relatives left."

"Apparently you do." He said in a hushed voice.

"I don't remember them."

"They remember you, and they want you with them."

He watched her struggle to take it all in.

"But they can't do that! If they wanted me then why didn't they come forward before? Why has it taken a year?"

The very question that Qui-Gon had found himself bitterly asking time and time again. A whole year in which she had grown used to her surroundings; A year in which Evla, himself and his padawan had grown attached and close. He could see that the idea of leaving it all behind was breaking her heart.

He didn't feel much better.

"You can't make me go." She said in a determined voice. "I won't! I'll run away if I have to."

"No you won't." Qui-Gon pulled her round to face him. "That is one thing you won't do. Evla's upset enough already without you adding to it."

"What about me? Don't I get to be upset?" She became more and more angry. "I can't believe your letting this happen! You're a Jedi. You can do anything!"

"That isn't true." Qui-Gon replied.

"Then what's the point of being a Jedi in the first place?"

He was beginning to ask himself the same thing.

"We don't do things for own personal gain or benefit." He stated, trying to make the words sound less hollow than they did in his head.

"You don't want me here anymore."

"Please do not make this any more difficult then it already is." Qui-Gon was now visibly upset.

She stared at the walls, at the floor…at her fingernails. Anywhere but at his face.

"So, that's it then. You've all decided. I'm being farmed out to an uncle I have no memory of at all. Why does nobody ask ME what I want?" She began to get red in the face. "I'll bet you've all known for months and months whilst you talked between yourselves."

"That is not true and you know it." Qui-Gon snapped back.

"I don't know anything! I don't know anything because nobody tells me!" She shrilled.

"Calm down, Jemmiah." Qui-Gon commanded.

She took a big breath.

"OK. I'm calm now. Has it done me any good?" She pretended to scan the room. "Nope, I seem to be in the same mess I was in ten seconds ago."

Jemmiah could tell he was unhappy. She didn't want him to be unhappy, but she reckoned that if she had to be miserable then somebody else might as well share in the feeling. He was the one who had intruded on her solitude. He was the one who was sending her away…

"Corellia, huh? Is that where I'm being crated off to?" She asked in a hurt tone.

Qui-Gon nodded.

"They say it's nice there. I don't really remember it that well."

"I'm sure you'll be well looked after." He said.

"No doubt. Well off, is he, this Uncle of mine?"

Jinn nodded again.

"Figures." She muttered.

"Most children would love to have enough wealth to spend on what they wanted, when they wanted."

"I like it here."

She stared at him.

"I like the people. Well, most of the people. I like being able to sit in the gardens and think. I like feeling safe." She sighed softly. "Please don't take that from me. I don't know these people."

Qui-Gon tried to tell her that she would get used to them in time, but he couldn't bring himself to say it. Because he knew he didn't want her to get used to them in time. He didn't want her to get used to them at all. He felt her arms reach for him in an entreating hug. "Don't make me go." She said.

"I can't promise you," he said as he stroked her long hair, "I can't give you a promise that I might not be able to keep. That would be unfair on both of us." He took her chin in one of his hands. "I do promise you this. I will do everything that I can to keep you here with us. I just hope that it's enough."

"That's all I can ask, I s'pose." She smiled weakly at him.

The Jedi smiled back at her. "There's always hope. Let's both try and remember that. I'm going to speak to Mater Yoda. He might be able to offer some advice." 

Qui-Gon stood up.

"I forgot. With all this happening it slipped my mind." He slid his hand into the pockets in his robe, locating the little wrapped package. "This is for you."

Jemmiah frowned as he placed the parcel in her hand. It was small, whatever it was, and not particularly heavy to hold. Carefully she untied the ribbon on the front, unwrapping the covering corner by corner until something glittery caught her eye.

"Do you like it?" He asked.

"This is for me?" She said in astonishment.

"Not unless you think my padawan would suit it better." He laughed inwardly at the image.

Jemmiah held the hair clasp in every direction so that the iridescent stones imbedded in the butterfly shaped body caught the light.

"It's lovely." She admitted. "Thank you."

He watched as she tied back a portion of her chestnut hair with the clasp, thinking how apt it was. 

A butterfly.

A beautiful creature that danced in the sunlight for a short time, and then just as quickly fluttered out of sight.

He hoped she had many years left in the sun.


	2. Sands of Time

****

Sands of Time

By Jemmiah

**********

"I'd like to know exactly what our chances are of being successful on this matter."

Gil Vedral turned his green-grey eyes from the quietly spoken Jedi Master with the neatly trimmed beard and long hair tied at the back to the smaller figure, that of a dark haired woman of middle stature and a serious expression on her face. Gil could understand that. It WAS a serious affair.

He considered his words, taking a brief sip of the caf that the woman - Evla her name was - had made for him. Caf wasn't really his thing but out of sympathy for the clearly worried lady he now faced, he had agreed, knowing that it was perhaps her only way of being helpful in a situation that was well beyond anyone's control.

"I think it could go either way in all honesty." He said finally. "I know that's not what you want to hear but I always think it's best to be as truthful as possible in situations like this. It's sometimes better to prepare for the worst just incase it does happen."

The woman looked away, plainly distressed and Gil felt a pang of sympathy for her. For both of them.

"We have to look at all the facts. What we have is a ten year old girl with no parents, no siblings and until a couple of months ago no relatives whatsoever. The reason that she was allowed to remain in the temple is because of the high regard that people have for the Jedi. The circumstances were unusual but I think in the end she was allowed to stay because it was felt she would benefit from a secure and stable upbringing rather than one we could not guarantee."

He sat back, twiddling his thumbs as he thought what to say next.

"Ideally she should have gone back to Corellia, but Coruscant has arguably the best facilities for just about everything in the galaxy. That and the fact that the young lady in question went on record as expressing her wish to stay with you. She's been with you what, a year or so now? That's all in your favor. She likes it here and she is happy."

"But?" Evla asked him bleakly.

He nodded at her. "Her uncle feels that as a Corellian she should be brought up on Corellia, with his own children. As the brother of her dead mother he has an outstanding claim on the girl. Corellian law is fairly strict on that sort of thing."

"I hardly think that Corellian law is relevant in this." Qui-Gon replied archly. "Not seeing as how Jemmiah is living under our protection on Coruscant."

"That's exactly what I have been arguing." Gil smiled gently at him. "If her uncle wants to play the patriot card, let him. I don't think that will sit well infront of a group of Coruscant judges. Corellian law is a sort of legal minefield unto itself."

Evla looked at the carpet, noticing the spot that Jemmiah had recently spilled the ink on and which she had unsuccessfully tried to cover over. She'd been annoyed with her carelessness at the time; now she would cheerfully have given over the whole floor surface for inking if it meant that this time tomorrow Jemmiah would be back permanently with her.

"Don't talk to me about Corellian law." Evla mumbled. "I know all about it. This is the same law that says that the legal age for girls to have sex is fourteen. It allows girls and boys to marry at fifteen! This is the same legal system that says proven attempted suicides are not to be resuscitated!"

"These laws that you have singled out are being looked at very carefully by the internal legal bodies on Corellia." Gil shrugged. "They are looking to do something about the legal age status. The law on suicides is as old as the planet. That doesn't necessarily make it right to keep it, I suppose. Having said that I'm not really here to pass judgement on Corellia's legal technicalities. The facts are straightforward. There is a strong argument that says that the family and cultural requirements that she would get from the Mathers family is of paramount importance. Weigh that against the care the child's been getting from yourselves and the jedi as a whole, and most importantly of all the wishes of the girl herself and you also have a reasonable case. It's like I said earlier," he sighed as he watched the woman's face fall, "it really could go either way."

"You think Jemmiah's wishes will have a strong bearing on the case?" Qui-Gon persisted.

"Undoubtedly so. The people reviewing this case aren't ogres. They are there to try and make the decision that's in the best interest of the child."

"So," Evla insisted in a voice that was far more calm and steady than she was actually feeling, "What happens if the people involved in deciding think that financial wealth is more important than a loving home?"

"There's nothing to suggest that the Mathers wouldn't love the girl." Gil said tentatively. "I'm sure that if the worst happened from our point of view that Jemmiah would be well taken care of."

"He wants to take care of her money, more like." Evla said through lips that barely seemed to move.

"I really cannot comment on that either." Gil replied as tactfully as he could. "He does seem like a genuinely kind man whose only wish is to have his family together with him under one household."

"If he cared so much then why has he taken so long to speak up?" Demanded Evla. 

"Because," Gil said patiently as he embarked on an explanation he had already given several times over, "The family was on their annual vacation, and they weren't searching for a Jemmiah Gleshan. They were searching for an Angeline Gleshan because that was what the late Thena Gleshan told her brother she had named the girl."

"I don't believe that." Evla shook her head. "He only wants to keep hold of her estate."

"It would make sense if he did." Shrugged Gil, not wanting to be dragged into a debate on personalities. "She can hardly run it for herself, can she? One day, whatever happens in the courts tomorrow, she will have that estate for herself. It will be a nice place to live - out in the open air and the countryside, nice weather, good area, acres of land…"

"You sound like a salesman." Evla said icily.

Qui-Gon hushed her with a gentle, pleading look, knowing that the bickering that Evla was intent on would achieve nothing in the long run except maybe persuade Gil that he was arguing for the wrong side.

"I'm sorry, this has been a very trying time for us all." He offered by way of an apology.

"I quite understand." He levered himself out of the chair, placing the cup back on the table. "I don't imagine it's been any easier on Jemmiah either."

"She seemed to be keeping her spirits up." Qui-Gon answered. "Until today that is. I think it's just hit her that if things don't go according to how we hope then she's looking at this evening being her last night with us. I think it's scared her to know that the sands of time have just about run out."

Gil shook Qui-Gon's hand and then cautious of the reception his gesture would be met with offered his hand also to Evla, who politely accepted. "I'll see you at the courts tomorrow. Please…" he met Evla's unhappy gaze. "Please try to get a good night's rest. For what it's worth I really wish you the best of fortune."

Qui-Gon followed Gil over to the door to see him out.

"Thanks for all your help." He smiled thinly. "I appreciate your efforts on Jemmiah's behalf."

"Where is the young lady? Getting some sleep?" Gil asked.

The jedi master lowered his eyelids and reached out with the force.

"No," he replied sadly, "she's behind the bedroom door listening to every word."

********

Once Gil had left and Evla had decided to make a start on washing, Qui-Gon ventured to knock on the door of Jemmiah's bedroom. He knew she was awake. He'd sensed that much from when Gil was still in the apartment. Her emotions seemed to waver violently between complete and total control to fear-driven nausea.

The room was dark, but the moment he requested the lights on he saw her sitting staring unblinkingly up at him from the edge of her bed.

"What are you doing in the dark?" he asked, confused.

"Evla doesn't like lights on after a certain time." She shrugged at him. "I didn't want to upset her seeing as this might be my last night here."

Qui-Gon sat himself down next to her on the bed.

"Let's hope it doesn't come to that." He smiled.

"I think I've run out of hope." She muttered so that he had to strain his ears to hear her.

"You once said to me," Qui-Gon took her chin in his hand, "that as long as there was hope there wasn't anything that couldn't be achieved. Do you remember that? I can't tell you how impressed I was to hear those words from someone your age."

"They seem kinda hollow right now." Jemmy replied. "I'm just so scared that I can't think straight."

"Hey," he pulled her into a hug; "there's no need to be scared."

"But I don't want to leave." Jemmy implored him, using her round eyes as best she could. "It just doesn't seem right that I have to do something like this because someone else wants it. I've spent half my life being told what to do. It's so unfair."

Qui-Gon felt the arms tighten around him.

"I don't want to live with uncle Kelik. He reminds me of…" she thought carefully for a while, searching for the right word, "what are those lizardy things that change color when they try to blend in with their background?"

"Chameleons?" Qui-Gon supplied.

"Yeah, he's like one of them. He seems like a different person depending on whom he's with or where he is. How can you trust someone who isn't what they say they are? At least you and Evla are always the same."

"Thanks, I think." Qui-Gon chuckled.

"And I'd miss Obi-Wan."

"You'd have your cousins there."

Jemmy sighed so deeply that Qui-Gon could actually feel it.

"I know." She moaned. "But they're not Obi-Wan."

Qui-Gon brushed the long hair over one shoulder. "You need to get some sleep."

"No." Jemmy shook her head, her eyes straying over to the toy Gundark with one eye that sat at the end of her bed. She somehow doubted that Uncle Kelik would let her take him with her. 

"What I need is a miracle."


	3. Dear Diary

****

TITLE: Dear Diary…

By Jemmiah

****

*****

__

Dear Diary,

This is it. This is what they call 'crunch time' in the holo films. 

I got up this morning as usual and tried my best not to think about the fact that this could be my last breakfast time with Evla. You know, I wanted Master Jinn and Ben to be there too but I think that it might have been unbearable, for them as well as for me. Things have been really tense this last week. Up until yesterday I was able to ignore it all but after last night when our lawyer guy came round to visit, I guess that was when it started to sink in. Evla was trying to chatter away as she tied up the dishes, you know, trying to take our minds off it but it didn't really work.

Today is the day the courts decide if I get to stay with my friends at the jedi temple on Coruscant or whether I'm do be packaged up and herded away to Corellia with my Uncle Kelik and his wife and kids. I only met him a week ago for the first time. Strangely enough he was exactly how I imagined he would be, sort of broad shouldered and larger than life. He's not tall like Qui-Gon but he's still quite impressive. He's nice enough but I still want to stay here. I want to be with Evla.

I told the court that this morning. It was the most nerve-wracking thing I ever had to do and at first I couldn't even find my voice to speak with. I chose my words carefully because as much as I want to stay at the temple I don't want to hurt my relative's feelings. The part of me that is a patriotic Corellian is secretly glad that they would like to take care of me, but most of the time I'm just plain scared because I like what I have already at the temple.

I don't need much to live on. I've never wanted much even though my uncle bought me a necklace that must have been very expensive. I think I was embarrassed to tell the truth and didn't dare to put it on incase Q-G saw it and thought I was being disloyal. I don't want to upset him either. They're just so different, my uncle's family and my jedi friends! My uncle seems to think that there isn't anything that can't be cured by throwing money at it. Master Jinn's lifestyle doesn't really allow for throwing any money at all around and I was wondering if that might not count against him in the final outcome.

See, Master Jinn being a jedi and all - he doesn't really have that many possessions. Ben seems to have acquired some clutter but I think that's because he's young, so maybe when he gets old like Master Jinn he'll not have that much stuff either. Most of these types of disputes come down to credits in the end, and that worries me because the temple only makes me a small allowance whereas my uncle is VERY well off. My aunt is very wealthy in her own right too and it seems that when I am old enough I will also be extremely rich. Right now though I'm not bothered.

I just want to stay on Coruscant with Evla and Qui-Gee.

I don't know who was more scared, me or him but he's a jedi so he hides things really well. I get the feeling he didn't want to make a big fuss before it was his turn to speak but all the same he gave me a little smile as if to say that it would all turn out for the best. I wish I could believe that. Master Jinn believes in the will of the force, that's why he is fighting my corner for me. Even so, I get the feeling he is worried that there are others who won't heed the will of the force and send me away…

I should die of misery away from Ben and my friends. They're all inside now, waiting to hear my fate, all except for Ben. He said he's stay with me because he didn't want me to be alone whilst I sat outside. Of course they asked if I wanted to go in to hear the verdict but I couldn't…I just couldn't. I'm just so scared that it won't be what I want to hear. If they decide against me I'm not sure what I'll do. One thing I won't do is cry, at least not while there are people around to see me. Either way somebody's going to get hurt: my uncle and aunt or Qui-Gon and Evla. I hope the judges take my feelings into consideration. The fact that they allowed the ruling to take place on Coruscant and not on Corellia as could easily have happened is in my favor, so Master Jinn says. He's right - if it had happened on Corellia I would stand no chance. I wouldn't even be here right now.

They've been in for five minutes now. How can it take so long? Surely it's a matter of saying 'yes' or 'no' to Master Jinn and Evla? What else can there be to say?

Ben's twiddling his thumbs about trying not to appear anxious but it's not working. He keeps playing with his rat-tail braid. I wish I could say something to him but I know the words just won't come out at all. I can tell he's upset by the way he's frowning at the floor. Now I don't just want to stay for me but I want to stay for Ben as well. 

What if I lose and have to leave? How can I say goodbye? You wouldn't believe the amount of praying I've done over the past few months and I'm not even sure what if anything I believe in. I guess I have to trust the force like everyone else I know. Just because I'm not a jedi doesn't mean I can't behave like one. If I lose to day I will try and face it like a jedi would and hope not to make anyone ashamed of me…

Please be over soon. I can't stand waiting.

-Jemmiah

*******

The door opened slowly and both Obi-Wan and Jemmiah's eyes snapped instantly towards the people who were now standing in the entrance to the anti-chamber. Two official looking people, one who Jemmiah had recognized as one of the judges on the panel and somebody else she guessed had been arguing on behalf of her uncle stepped aside to let the more imposing and serious figure of jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn pass before them, followed at a discrete distance by her Uncle. Then came a strange tapping sound that seemed vaguely familiar to her from someplace…

Master Yoda???

Why was Yoda here? Had he spoken on her behalf? If he had then that indeed had been incredibly kind and Jemmiah exchanged a mystified if doubtful glance with Obi-Wan who sat beside her on the bench. Jemmiah tried to read the expressions on their faces but failed utterly to interpret a single facial twitch, for there was none to be had. Everything was so severe and clinical. No smiles. No anything.

There was no Evla either.

That caused Jemmiah's heart to sink to her boots, because she knew that if they had won Evla would have been through those doors and smothering her gratefully in a bear hug, and the crèche master was nowhere to be seen. Jedi or not, she could tell that Obi-Wan was thinking exactly the same thing. She was probably hiding some place in the nearest fresher, crying where nobody could see her. Qui-Gon hadn't even looked her way yet.

Things did not look good.

Qui-Gon gave a grave nod to their lawyer and then turned to face the equally solemn figure of Kelik Mathers, and stretched out his hand by way of congratulations. 

//Master Jinn is honorable even in defeat.// Jemmiah thought desolately. //Why doesn't that surprise me?//

She couldn't hear the words that were exchanged between the two of them as the Corellian man curtly grasped Qui-Gon's hand in his own in a stiff shake, but then she wasn't meant to. Qui-Gon would make certain of that. It all looked faintly like a done deal, one that hadn't turned out favorably at all for her. Beside her, Obi-Wan stayed utterly silent, not saying anything until his master spoke first. Finally after what seemed to be a lifetime of agony the tall master walked carefully over to the two youngsters and squatted down carefully infront of Jemmiah, who regarded him with eyes that spoke of barely repressed fear.

"Have they come to a decision?" she managed to ask in a distant voice that somehow didn't seem to belong to her.

"Yes." Qui-Gon nodded slowly. "Yes they have."

"Where's Evla?" Jemmy glanced nervously towards the doorway. "Why isn't she here?"

"She will be soon." Promised Qui-Gon, observing the pinched white face before him.

Jemmiah shot a quick darting glance at her uncle, who smiled warmly at her as if to confirm her worst fears, then stared back at Qui-Gon, lips twitching slightly through nervousness.

"We lost then." She said quietly. "Didn't we?"

"What makes you think that?" Qui-Gon tilted his head slightly.

"Uncle Kelik is happy and you don't seem…very…" she trailed off miserably.

There followed a lengthy and somewhat painful silence for a few seconds afterwards.

"You should never judge by appearances." Qui-Gon broke into a large smile. "How many times have I told the pair of you that?"

"I don't understand." Jemmiah looked back to her uncle as he stood in deep conversation with his lawyer. 

"Let's just say that your uncle…" he paused for a moment, before deciding that Jemmiah had been tortured enough already that day, "…and I have reached an agreement that allows you to remain on Coruscant for the majority of the year. You'll still be required to spend an as yet unspecified amount of time with him on Corellia each year but…"

"We won then?" Jemmiah looked stunned.

"In a manner of speaking," Qui-Gon agreed, "yes we did."

Jemmiah closed her eyes and let the relief wash over her.

"Evla will be here in a moment. She's just having a word with your aunt about something." Qui-Gon said, sounding somewhat distorted to Jemmiah's ears, almost as if he were speaking under water.

"Master, does that mean that Jemmy will be coming back with us to the temple?" Obi-Wan's voice asked, sounding equally muffled.

"Yes, padawan. We'll still have to speak with Mr. Mathers over the course of the next few days but there's no problem with…

Everything went suddenly very dark indeed and Jemmiah pitched forward and half-sprawled across the surprised figure of Qui-Gon Jinn.

"Master?" Obi-Wan stood up.

"It's okay Obi-Wan. She's just passed out. It's probably all been a bit too much for her. Maybe you could try and find a glass of water from somewhere…"

Obi-Wan immediately left, even though he hadn't a clue where he was going to get the water.

********

Jemmiah didn't remember much about the journey home in the cab, sandwiched victoriously between both Qui-Gon and Evla. She hadn't remembered her aunt and uncle hovering anxiously by her whilst she recovered from her blackout, nor did she recollect their saying goodbye to her - for the time being. She couldn't remember apologizing for the embarrassment of blacking out infront of everybody nor asking Qui-Gon what Master Yoda had been doing there either. Frankly, by the time she had got back to the temple she was too exhausted to care.

She'd gone straight to bed, content to listen to the muffled conversation that Evla, Qui-Gon and occasionally Obi-Wan were having in the living area of the crèche master's apartment. She didn't need to hear the words. The sound itself was reassuring to her, just the distant rumbling voices punctuated now and then by laughter. It was so good to hear that sound again after so long without it.

Evla had been determined to cook a celebratory meal but they had wisely decided to postpone it until Jemmiah was in a better frame of mind to enjoy it more, although Obi-Wan no doubt would cheerfully have gone ahead anyway! Jemmiah lay on her bed, simply listening.

It was so good to relax!

Rolling onto one side the eleven year old reached into her pocket and pulled out her ever faithful diary and for a moment just contented herself to re-read the previous entries leading up to the events of that morning. After all the trials and tribulations, promises, hidden tears and heartache it looked at long last as if somehow things were beginning to work out for her. As Qui-Gon always said, it was the struggles in life that determined a person's character. Maybe she'd celebrate by sleeping for a week or two straight!

But first there was something she had to do. Her fingers hovered momentarily over the keypad, seeking the right words.

__

Dear Diary,

****

I WON!!!!!!

-Jemmiah


End file.
